Clara Richard
—
Director & Head of Life Sciences at NeurAstra
Senior Researcher & Science Communicator at P/Twain
Senior Researcher at TC Lab
—

about

LinkedIn

➔ Professional Experiences

(present) | NeurAstra

Co-Founder/CEO & Head of Life Sciences

NeurAstra is an independent science organisation based in Haute-Savoie (Genevois) that designs and develops research projects to explore the human potential for adaptation in remote and extreme environments on Earth—and beyond. NeurAstra also proposes educational initiatives and artistic projects to encourage knowledge share, spark conversations, and inspire science enthusiasts of all ages.

◦ Managed a team of 20 internal/external collaborators and created partnerships with international institutions (US/EU).
◦ Led the development of research programmes resulting in experiments, publications, and new collaborations.
◦ Launched multiple outreach activities reaching participants worldwide and increasing public engagement in our initiatives.

(03.2024 — present) | P/Twain

Researcher & Science Communicator

MAIN INDUSTRIES: Aerospace / Healthcare / Software Engineering / Human Factors

◦ Conducted research projects to generate insights that inform design solutions and improve user interaction with complex systems.
◦ Created diverse visual and written content, making scientific concepts understandable for diverse audiences.
◦ Organised and facilitated presentations/workshops to effectively communicate research findings and foster interdisciplinary exchanges.

Collaboration with Skyline Evolution:
◦ Developed engaging content to simplify scientific concepts and research findings for a general audience.
◦ Managed communication campaigns to raise awareness about Skyline Evolution’s projects.

(03.2023 — 03.2024) | International Centre for Astronautical Development (ICAD)

Project Manager

MAIN INDUSTRIES: Aerospace / Healthcare

◦ Managed the Space Medicine/Neurology team, optimising project workflows and communication channels.
◦ Developed accessible content to communicate scientific research to diverse audiences in the aerospace and medical sectors.
◦ Developed a mentorship programme connecting international students with space professionals.
◦ Organised/presented findings in scientific settings, increasing the organisation’s visibility and engagement with external interlocutors.

(2016 — 2023) | IFS

(03.2021 — 03.2023) | Lead User Experience & User Education Specialist

MAIN INDUSTRIES: Aerospace & Defense / Healthcare / Services / Research & Development

◦ Directed UX strategies for our products (dashboard, software, invitation systems, survey programme) increasing user engagement and optimising design workflows.
◦ Collaborated with internal teams (engineers, QA specialists, and CX consultants) to produce educational resources and technical documentation, facilitating knowledge transfer and reducing support requests.
◦ Mentored and guided the new design team members, providing support and feedback to support the design onboarding processes.

(02.2019 — 03.2021) | Team Leader

◦ Coordinated the design team (3-6) by fostering collaboration and ensuring the alignment of the projects with product roadmaps.
◦ Implemented a UX research programme integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies and created a centralised research repository.

(10.2016 — 02.2019) | UX/CX Specialist

◦ Designed wireframes, prototypes, and digital assets for our different products and services.
◦ Elaborated customer experience (CX) case studies to strengthen our Voice of the Customer (VoC) Programme.

➔ Research Initiatives and Advisory Roles

World's Biggest Analog (WBA)

Editorial Advisor

Collaboration with the World's Biggest Analog institution, contributing to the creation and development of its new journal dedicated to space and astronautics analog research. This publication aims to showcase innovative studies, experiments, and findings from analog environments that replicate the conditions of space exploration.

European Space Agency (ESA)

Citizen Science Participant

The European Space Agency launched in 2023 a citizen science project within the Systematic Threat Analysis of Radiation from Space (STARS) entity involving researchers around the globe to work on a systematic review. By synthesising and analysing the available evidence, this project seeks to assess the non-neoplastic effects of ionising radiation on the central nervous system.

Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC)

Research & Experiments Coordinator

The SGAC and space exploration group FIGURES aim to close the gender data gap in human spaceflight. To this end, our group seeks to connect analogue mission centres and space medicine institutes to design and develop experiments following optimised and standardised human mission protocols.

Workshop project:
FIGURES and CHASM collaborated to propose a thematic workshop for the Analog Space Missions Conference held in September 2024 at EPFL, Lausanne. The aim was to share the newest findings about analogue astronaut protocols and the preparation of parastronauts for analogue missions.

NASA GeneLab Analysis Working Group

External Collaborator

The AI/ML Analysis Working Group (AWG) is intended to be a forum for soliciting feedback on the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence readiness of data within the NASA Open Science Data Repositories (OSDR), including GeneLab and ALSDA. These efforts maximise the use of existing data for the development of new training datasets and pre-trained models using AI/ML methodologies.

➔ Education

(2020 — 2022) | King’s College London

MSc, Applied Neuroscience

PGDip: Aerospace Medicine
ADDITIONAL MODULES: Scientific Communications
THESIS: “Central Nervous System Functional and Structural Changes Associated with Long-duration Spaceflight”

(2011 — 2016) | École Supérieure des Arts de Paris (Eartsup)

BSc, MSc, Design & Communication

MINOR: Human Factors
THESIS: “Stress, Fatigue, and Interfaces: Designing for Humans and their Environments”

(03.2015 — 07.2015) | HEC Paris | Executive Exchange Programme
TOPIC: Digital Transformation

➔ Advanced Training

(related to the MSc at King’s College London)

(2024) | International Space University (ISU) | Metavisionaries

Lectures and payload workshop with IceCubes and The Exploration Company focusing on space medicine experiments and their clinical applications on Earth.

AREA: Space Medicine & Health for Earth and Space

(2023) | European Space Agency (ESA) | European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA)

ESA/ELGRA Gravity-Related Research Summer School with lectures and team projects.

AREA: Research under microgravity and hypergravity conditions in life and physical sciences.

(2022) | Deep Space Initiative

One-year research programme (Andromeda) to investigate the long-term consequences of space radiation exposure on neurons and glial cells and identify potential biomarkers to drive future research in space and Earth.

AREAS: Space Radiation / Neurodegenerative diseases
PROJECT: “Neurodegeneration in Space: A Review of the Neurons and Glial Cells Alteration Processes”

(2021) | King’s College London

Assisted research projects to study the physiological challenges faced by astronauts (e.g., analysis of data from experiments examining the impact of microgravity on the human body) and air pilots (e.g., high altitude and shift in circadian rhythm).

AREA: Aerospace Medicine
PROJECT: “Influence of Microgravity on Astronauts’ Sympathetic and Vagal Responses”

➔ Apprenticeships

(related to the MSc at Eartsup Paris)

(2015 — 2016) | BETC (Havas)

Worked as an Art Director with a copywriter to assist the creative directors on French accounts in developing 360 marketing and advertising campaigns (e.g., TV, radio, print, web, and social media).

(2014 — 2015) | Marcel (Publicis)

Worked as an Art Director Junior on the social media team on French and American accounts, creating and managing digital content on social media platforms, apps, and websites.

(2014) | Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon

Worked as a Communication Assistant on the exhibition «entre-temps... brusquement, et ensuite» on elaborating the ad campaign, signage, and product catalogue for the shop, as well as the writing of articles for the art news website.

➔ Certificates

(2024) | NASA Transform to Open Science

Open Science 101

(2023) | European Astrobiology Institute

Astrobiology Academy

(2021) | HarvardX

Quantitative Methods for Biology (MATLAB)

(2020) | Waseda University

Cosmic Rays and Dark Matter

(2016) | Georgia Institute of Technology

Human-Computer Interaction

➔ Publications

(2023) | Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) FIGURES

“Data-Gender Gap in Human Spaceflight: A New Frontier in Exploration”
This white paper was presented at the 2023 Aerospace Europe Conference x SGAC FIGURES Workshop.

(2022) | King’s College London

“Rethinking Mental Health: Towards a Better Characterisation of Schizophrenia ”
This essay was presented during the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health 2022 Festival: “Partnering for Change”.

(2022 — 2024) | Deep Space Initiative (Andromeda Programme) | King’s College London

“Neurodegeneration in Space: A Review of the Neurons and Glial Cells Alteration Processes”
The preliminary results of this review were presented at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress.
The literature review was shared at the ELGRA 2024 Symposium (poster exhibition).

Discover the project here.

(2022) | Deep Space Initiative (Milky Way Programme)

“Astronaut’s Health and Performance: A Review”
The results of this literature review were presented and published at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress.

(2021) | AsMA COST Action

“Open Medical Technologies for Space Exploration and Sustainable Human Development”
This white paper was elaborated to submit the AsMA / COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action 2022.

(2021) | ResearchOps Community (ReOps)

“Améliorez votre recherche et vos opérations — Un regard stratégique sur la recherche et les opérations à grande échelle.”
This article is a traduction and adaptation for the French ReOps Community of the original text written by Brigette Metzler.

➔ Experiments

(2024) | International Space University | Metavisionaries | ICE Cubes | The Exploration Company

“Joint Resilience in Orbit: The Synovial Capsule Beyond Earth”
This experiment was designed to be sent aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and explore the effects of microgravity on synovial joints, which are critical for movement and flexibility in the human body.

(2023) | European Space Agency | European Low Gravity Research Association

“Starry Eyes: Visual Cortex Excitability in Altered Gravity Conditions”
By utilising transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measurements during parabolic flight (Airbus A-300 ‘Zero-g’), this experiment aimes to understand how the brain’s visual processing centre responds to the brief and alternated periods of microgravity and hypergravity.

(2022 — present) | NeurAstra

“H.A.P.M.O.S. — Stories of Human Adaptation. Psychological and Physiological Alterations in Isolated, Confined, and Extreme (ICE) Environments”
H.A.P.M.O.S. aims to understand the psychological and physiological factors influencing health and well-being through longitudinal qualitative studies and physiological measurements in extreme environments.

Discover the project here.

➔ Technical Skills & Main Tools

Marketing & Analytics Tools: Google Analytics / MailChimp / Hootsuite / Hotjar / SendGrid
Design & Content Creation Tools: Adobe Creative Suite / Figma / InVision / WordPress / Cargo
Project Management Tools: Atlassian (e.g., JIRA) / Airtable / TeamGantt / Aha! / Google Apps / Office
Research Tools: SPSS / NVivo / CNTB / NASA-TLX / SyRF / Dovetail / UserBit / UserTesting / Hotjar

➔ Languages

FRENCH: Native

SPANISH: C1-C2

ENGLISH: C1-C2

GERMAN: A1

CR — 2026